2015 China Internet Users' Wellness Report Health Service Demand Edition
2015 China Internet Users' Wellness Report Health Service Demand Edition
Health Service Demand Edition
🏋️ Online Fitness Services
▪ 48.3% of netizens have used online fitness courses. Current paid users ~38.6%.
▪ Paid users report higher satisfaction (46.4% “very useful”).
▪ Future willingness to pay: 27.7%, driven by personalized training (50.7%).
🏥 Internet Medical Services
▪ Awareness reaches 81.2%, yet only 8.1% have used such services.
▪ Appointment registration most used (53.1%). Telemedicine paid rate: 51.8%.
▪ Top online pharmacy purchase: household medicines (63.9%), convenience drives 65.6%.
⌚ Smart Health Devices
▪ High awareness (>90% for bands/watches), but ownership under 20%.
▪ High price (50.9%) main barrier.
▪ Future purchase intention: 77.4% willing to consider buying.
Usage of Online Fitness Courses Sample N=2,756
According to iResearch online survey data, 48.3% of Chinese netizens have used online fitness courses. Among them, female users accounted for 56.0%, significantly higher than male respondents.
Post-80s and Post-90s generations are the main user groups. Online fitness courses have become a common supplementary method for daily exercise.
Payment Patterns & Effectiveness Perception
Among all respondents, 38.6% have paid for or subscribed to online fitness courses. The Post-80s cohort shows the highest paid adoption (41.3%), and males slightly outnumber females (44.2%).
Among paying users, 46.4% consider online fitness courses “very useful,” compared to only 18.2% of non-paying respondents. Over 69% of all netizens acknowledge positive effects from fitness content.
Looking ahead, 27.7% of netizens are willing to pay for online fitness courses in the future. The top driver is “personalized/customized plans” (50.7%), followed by “saving time on self-learning” (43.2%) and “exclusive high-quality content” (38.9%).
Awareness & Current Usage Landscape
Awareness of internet medical services among Chinese netizens reached 81.2%, yet adoption remains low at merely 8.1%. Over 91.9% have never used any internet-based healthcare service, indicating huge untapped potential.
Among users who have experienced internet medical services, the most utilized functions are: appointment registration (53.1%), online consultation (37.1%), medication inquiry (33.0%), and online payment (29.9%).
Future intention: appointment registration is top (59.9% will use), and 16.6% are willing to pay for it. Overseas medical service has the lowest interest (26.2%).
Telemedicine / Online Consultation Analysis
Among those who have used online consultation, the paid adoption rate reached 51.8%, with female users slightly higher (56.7%). Key drivers for paying: “access to more detailed/professional service” (58.1%), “better service attitude” (49.3%), and “trustworthy doctor credentials” (43.2%).
Preferred payment model: 48.2% favor pay-per-consultation, while post-80s show higher acceptance for monthly subscriptions, and post-90s prefer quarterly plans. Over half of users willing to pay per session would pay<10 RMB, whereas 62.5% of quarterly/annual subscribers would pay over 100 RMB.
E-Pharmacy Utilization
Purchasing medications or health products online is becoming a mainstream wellness channel. 63.9% of netizens have bought household medicines online, followed by personal care products (52.3%) and home medical devices (41.8%). Pediatric drugs (42.6%) and long-term chronic medication (40.9%) also rank high.
The main motivations for using e-pharmacies are “home delivery, time-saving convenience” (65.6%), “wider product selection” (60.7%), and “lower price/direct-from-manufacturer” (54.2%). Trust in online pharmacies has improved notably from 2014.
Current Adoption: High Awareness, Low Ownership
Smart wearables have achieved high recognition: smart watches/bands awareness exceeds 90%, smart blood pressure monitors 72.4%. However, actual ownership of any smart health device is below 20% — only about 17% own at least one device. Smart scales lead ownership (14.5%), followed by smart bands (12.1%).
The primary barrier for non-purchasers is “high price / low cost-performance” (50.9%), followed by lack of understanding of functions (28.6%) and concerns over practicality (22.3%). Young users trust the data more: 9.2% of post-90s consider the data “very reliable”. Overall satisfaction is higher among younger demographics (post-90s satisfaction rate: 70.1%).
✅ Top satisfaction drivers: “better understanding of personal health” (46.3%), “encourages healthier habits” (38.9%), “enhanced health awareness” (33.7%).
Future Outlook: 77% Interested, Generational Gaps
Looking forward, 77.4% of netizens say they would consider buying smart health hardware, among which 28.8% answer “definitely will buy” and 48.6% “might buy”. Strong underlying demand, yet product pricing and utility need improvements.
Preferred device types show clear generational differences. Overall intention shares and breakdown:
| Device Type | Overall % | Post-60s | Post-70s | Post-80s | Post-90s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smart Watch | 23.7% | 17.9% | 17.2% | 17.6% | 31.4% |
| Smart Band | 18.4% | 17.9% | 26.9% | 21.2% | 17.1% |
| Smart Blood Pressure Monitor | 13.6% | 25.0% | 9.7% | 13.2% | 7.1% |
| Smart Bed | 8.7% | 3.6% | 5.4% | 8.4% | 8.6% |
| Smart ECG Monitor | 8.5% | 10.7% | 9.7% | 8.4% | 7.1% |
| Smart Glucose Meter | 6.4% | 10.7% | 10.8% | 5.6% | 4.3% |
📌 Generational insight: Post-90s prefer smart watches/bands (trendy and activity tracking), whereas Post-60s/70s incline toward clinical monitoring devices (blood pressure, glucose). Vendors should tailor marketing accordingly.
📊 Supplementary Insights: Payment Models & Data Trust
▪ Preferred payment for online consultation: pay-per-session (48.2%), quarterly/annual membership (21.5%), post-80s favor monthly plans (19.8%).
▪ Regarding smart health hardware, only 5.9% of users deem the data “completely untrustworthy”; sustained usage improves trust.
▪ Main barriers to paying for online fitness: not yet forming payment habits (44.1%), free resources sufficient (41.3%), perceived high price (32.7%).
▪ Trust in e-pharmacy also driven by “genuine product guarantee” (44.6%) and “professional pharmacist consultation” (28.1%), fueling O2O healthcare growth.
